murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood
murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood murakami, haruki - Norwegian wood
"I'm sure I'll be fine." "So, that settles it," said Reiko. "We'll be back around five. Naoko and I both have things to do until then. Do you mind staying here alone?" "Not at all. I'll study my German." When Reiko left, I stretched out on the sofa and closed my eyes. I lay there steeping myself in the silence when, out of nowhere, I thought of the time Kizuki and I went on a motorbike ride. That had been autumn, too, I realized. Autumn how many years ago? Yes, four. I recalled the smell of Kizuki's leather jacket and the racket made by that red Yamaha 125cc bike. We went to a spot far down the coast, and came back the same evening, exhausted. Nothing special happened on the way, but I remembered it well. The sharp autumn wind moaned in my ears, and looking up at the sky, my hands clutching Kizuki's jacket, I felt as if I might be swept into outer space. I lay there for a long time, letting my mind wander from one memory to another. For some strange reason, lying in this room seemed to bring back old memories that I had rarely if ever recalled before. Some of them were pleasant, but others carried a trace of sadness. How long did this go on? I was so immersed in that torrent of memory (and it was a torrent, like a spring gushing out of the rocks) that I failed to notice Naoko quietly open the door and come in. I opened my eyes, and there she was. I raised my head and looked into her eyes for a time. She was sitting on the arm of the sofa, looking at me. At first I thought she might be an image spun into existence by my own memories. But it was the real Naoko. "Sleeping?" she whispered. "No," I said, "just thinking." I sat up and asked, "How are you?" "I'm good," she said with a little smile like a pale, distant scene. "I don't have much time, though. I'm not supposed to be here now. I just got away for a minute, and I have to go back right away. Don't you hate my hair?" "Not at all," I said. "It's cute." Her hair was in a simple schoolgirl 124
style, with one side held in place with a hairslide the way she used to have it in the old days. It suited her very well, as if she had always worn it that way. She looked like one of the beautiful little girls you see in woodblock prints from the Middle Ages. "It's such a pain, I have Reiko cut it for me. Do you really think it's cute?" "Really." "My mother hates it." She opened the hairslide, let the hair hang down, smoothed it with her fingers, and closed the hairslide again. It was shaped like a butterfly. "I wanted to see you alone before the three of us get together. Not that I had anything special to say. I just wanted to see your face and get used to having you here. Otherwise, I'd have trouble getting to know you again. I'm so bad with people." "Well?" I asked. "Is it working?" "A little," she said, touching her hairslide again. "But time's up. I've got to go." I nodded. "Toru," she began, "I really want to thank you for coming to see me. It makes me very happy. But if being here is any kind of burden to you, you shouldn't hesitate to tell me so. This is a special place, and it has a special system, and some people can't get into it. So if you feel like that, please be honest and let me know. I won't be crushed. We're honest with each other here. We tell each other all kinds of things with complete honesty." "I'll tell you," I said. "I'll be honest." Naoko sat down and leaned against me on the sofa. When I put my arm around her, she rested her head on my shoulder and pressed her face to my neck. She stayed like that for a time, almost as if she were taking my temperature. Holding her, I felt warm in the chest. After a short while, she stood up without saying a word and went out through the door as quietly as she had come in. 125
- Page 74 and 75: expensive school trips. For instanc
- Page 76 and 77: esting on her lap. "That was the pr
- Page 78 and 79: you." "I'd like that," I said. Mido
- Page 80 and 81: the shutter and stepped a few paces
- Page 82 and 83: "Thanks," I said. It suddenly dawne
- Page 84 and 85: I nodded, swallowing a mouthful of
- Page 86 and 87: "You're very clear about what you l
- Page 88 and 89: "I'd go and have a look around at l
- Page 90 and 91: unning away." "Even if this place b
- Page 92 and 93: "It's true. Don't you think I'm ter
- Page 94 and 95: different from other people's. I'm
- Page 96 and 97: call," I said. 'As long as lunch is
- Page 98 and 99: At 11.30 Nagasawa was ready to give
- Page 100 and 101: "So find a vending machine and a ni
- Page 102 and 103: the events had undoubtedly happened
- Page 104 and 105: this time I am very, very calm. Cle
- Page 106 and 107: We eat freshly picked fruits and ve
- Page 108 and 109: to the Ami Hostel. A woman receptio
- Page 110 and 111: still taste my morning coffee. By t
- Page 112 and 113: PRIVATE NO TRESPASSING. A few clues
- Page 114 and 115: merely a nice person but whose nice
- Page 116 and 117: my question. "The first thing you o
- Page 118 and 119: "What should I do, then? Give me an
- Page 120 and 121: I nodded. "I think the three of us
- Page 122 and 123: we can ask a staff member to buy fo
- Page 126 and 127: With Naoko gone, I went to sleep on
- Page 128 and 129: weightlessness on the secretion of
- Page 130 and 131: "It's lovely, though," said Naoko.
- Page 132 and 133: never plays it unless I request it.
- Page 134 and 135: laughing. "How many girls has he sl
- Page 136 and 137: "I couldn't get wet," she said in a
- Page 138 and 139: Reiko sat alone on the carpet, play
- Page 140 and 141: She picked up the basketball again,
- Page 142 and 143: it in hot water, taking a few days
- Page 144 and 145: I said I liked him and thought he w
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- Page 150 and 151: draw people - or draw me, at least
- Page 152 and 153: her, outside work, or sports. She h
- Page 154 and 155: est side, I'd say he succeeded. His
- Page 156 and 157: anana; if we got lonely, we'd go to
- Page 158 and 159: the window. She had drawn her knees
- Page 160 and 161: changes to be reborn in utter perfe
- Page 162 and 163: feed and a garden hose. Naoko screw
- Page 164 and 165: "We'll be back before lunch." The t
- Page 166 and 167: used it to make a whistle. The trai
- Page 168 and 169: adios in our rooms, so if I don't c
- Page 170 and 171: "It feels like ancient history," sa
- Page 172 and 173: "Well, it depends how you look at i
style, with one side held in place with a hairslide the way she used to<br />
have it in the old days. It suited her very well, as if she had always<br />
worn it that way. She looked like one of the beautiful little girls you<br />
see in <strong>wood</strong>block prints from the Middle Ages.<br />
"It's such a pain, I have Reiko cut it for me. Do you really think it's<br />
cute?"<br />
"Really."<br />
"My mother hates it." She opened the hairslide, let the hair hang<br />
down, smoothed it with her fingers, and closed the hairslide again. It<br />
was shaped like a butterfly.<br />
"I wanted to see you alone before the three of us get together. Not that<br />
I had anything special to say. I just wanted to see your face and get<br />
used to having you here. Otherwise, I'd have trouble getting to know<br />
you again. I'm so bad with people."<br />
"Well?" I asked. "Is it working?"<br />
"A little," she said, touching her hairslide again. "But time's up. I've<br />
got to go."<br />
I nodded.<br />
"Toru," she began, "I really want to thank you for coming to see me. It<br />
makes me very happy. But if being here is any kind of burden to you,<br />
you shouldn't hesitate to tell me so. This is a special place, and it has a<br />
special system, and some people can't get into it. So if you feel like<br />
that, please be honest and let me know. I won't be crushed. We're<br />
honest with each other here. We tell each other all kinds of things with<br />
complete honesty."<br />
"I'll tell you," I said. "I'll be honest."<br />
Naoko sat down and leaned against me on the sofa. When I put my<br />
arm around her, she rested her head on my shoulder and pressed her<br />
face to my neck. She stayed like that for a time, almost as if she were<br />
taking my temperature. Holding her, I felt warm in the chest. After a<br />
short while, she stood up without saying a word and went out through<br />
the door as quietly as she had come in.<br />
125
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